ALBANY, NEW YORK - Francisco Rivera, age 37, of Watervliet, New York, pled guilty today to conspiring to distribute cocaine.
The announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith; Shelly A. Binkowski, Inspector in Charge, United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Boston Division; and Acting Albany Police Chief Robert Sears.
As part of his guilty plea, Rivera admitted that he arranged for someone in Puerto Rico to mail him kilogram and half-kilogram quantities of cocaine that were hidden within everyday items such as scented candles and board game boxes. He arranged for cocaine shipments to be mailed to residential addresses in Albany, Rensselaer and Schenectady Counties where he would pick them up and then deliver them to his customers.
United States District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino is scheduled to sentence Rivera on Jan. 16, 2018. He faces at least 10 years and up to life in prison, as well as post-imprisonment supervised release of at least 8 years and up to life. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors. Rivera has also agreed to forfeit $24,500 in cash drug proceeds seized from his Watervliet residence, as well as a 2011 BMW X-6 SUV that he used to transport cocaine.
This case was investigated by the USPIS and Albany Police Department, with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Barnett.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
